Seoul: The ruling People Power Party (PPP) and the main opposition Democratic Party (DP) convened on Friday to discuss their respective bills aimed at launching a special counsel probe into impeached President Yoon Suk Yeol over his failed martial law bid. However, the discussions ended with little progress, leaving both parties struggling to reach a compromise.
According to Yonhap News Agency, the meeting, presided over by National Assembly Speaker Woo Won-shik, was attended by PPP floor leader Kweon Seong-dong and his DP counterpart, Park Chan-dae. The focus was on whether the rival parties could reconcile their differences and agree on a single bill before the parliamentary plenary session concludes.
Park informed reporters at 8:30 p.m. that negotiations between the ruling and opposition parties had fallen through, and both sides had no plans to reconvene on Friday. He indicated that the Democratic Party intended to vote for the bill despite the lack of progress, hinting at the possibility of unilaterally putting forward an opposition-proposed bill for a vote.
Kweon, representing the PPP, also confirmed the breakdown in talks, citing differences in positions. He emphasized that their bill included only essential details to facilitate compromise, criticizing the opposition's approach to the negotiations.
The opposition parties have been advocating for a revised special counsel bill that encompasses allegations of Yoon committing "treason" by attempting to provoke war with North Korea. In contrast, the PPP contends that the scope of the bill is excessive and has introduced its own version, excluding such allegations.
Should the two parties manage to reach an agreement, their joint bill is expected to pass in the plenary session. However, if they fail to narrow their differences, the opposition-proposed bill is likely to pass the National Assembly, given the opposition bloc's current dominance with 192 seats in the 300-member parliament.